Obesity is a major individual and public health concern in the United States and throughout the world. In the United States alone, approximately 33% of the adult population is obese and another 33% are overweight. Treatment of obesity and other weight-related disorders involves a multi-factorial approach (typically a combination of diet, exercise, behavioral health modifications and sometimes medication or surgery) and commonly requires significant and sometimes permanent lifestyle modification. Especially in adults, the oft-required lifestyle changes can make obesity an extremely difficult condition to overcome.
The main goal of obesity management is reducing the amount of fat in the body. For various reasons (to motivate subjects, to enforce compliance and to troubleshoot/customize diets), it is useful and important to have a means to track and trend fat metabolism.
The need for lifestyle changes is not limited to treatment of obesity or overweight. As an example, individuals suffering from other metabolic conditions, such as elevated cholesterol or high blood pressure, may benefit from improving their diet or changing exercise patterns. A growing number of individuals seek to reduce their carbohydrate intake to increase utilization of fat as an energy source, in hopes of reducing their overall insulin usage and thereby counteracting metabolic abnormalities (such as high blood pressure).
Athletes and fitness-conscious individuals are concerned about staying in peak physical condition, and are often actively engaged in structured sports activities (whether professional or not). Such individuals struggle with making data-driven decisions about how best to optimize their biochemical and physical condition. They often try to make “smart” decisions about how best to reach their fitness or health goals.
Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder having substantial implications and is oftentimes a lifelong illness. The disorder is most prevalent in adolescents and young adults, and is 90% more common in young women than men. Because of the complex nature of the disorder and the significant level of mental health treatment, treatment of anorexia nervosa is most effective in-center and is correspondingly expensive. Improving patient outcomes requires considerable counseling and monitoring.